Never Again
by GeniusInDisguise
Summary: After the death of Annie's parents, Annie ran away, and stayed away from the Phillips family for two years. She finally returns when she finds out that they actually care about her, but meets troubles on the way. I need advice on how it should end. R/R!!
1. A Christmas Alone

/It was Christmas eve and 18 year old Annie sat in the living room of her apartment. It was snowing softly outside and inside she had decorated her house with holly berries, tinsel , angels, bells , and the most beautifully decorated tree ever. But all those happy decorations didn't help the way Annie felt. It had been exactly two years since she'd run away from the Phillips. Her sixteenth Christmas always haunted her. Annie took a sip of her hot Cocoa, preparing for another Christmas alone, and reflected on that day...  
  
Annie streched and opened her eyes to see a camera zooming up her nose and two sniggering boys behind it.   
"Jack, Clu, go away I just woke up." She rolled over and hid under the covers.   
"Ahh, c'mon Annie! It's the day before Christmas and we have to catch every second of your day on film!" Clu was practically bouncing off the walls.  
Annie groaned and sat up, "Why me? Why not, uhh, Molly? Huh?"  
"Because," Jack said excitedly, "For my Christmas Season Extra credit documentary my title will be "What a typical teenage girl does on Christmas Eve day!" Isn't that great!?!?!?!?!?"  
So Jack and Clu followed Annie around all day except when she went to the bathroom (of course that goes without saying). Durring the day she made about sixteen christmas cards, wrote half of a song, skipped lunch (because of her diet), talked on the phone to Fi for about 7 hours (according to Jack and Clu who both fell asleep half way through the conversation, dropping the camera so all you could see was the bed sheet) and baked two dozen gingerbread cookies for the family. The day seemed to go pretty well untill she got away from the boys and went to the kitchen. She heard Molly and Irene talking in hushed, troubled tones.  
"What's wrong, Molly?" Irene sat down across from her.  
"It's Annie's parents. they- they died in a plane crash on their way home to see Annie. I don't know how I'm giong to tell-"  
  
Annie was pulled back out of her past by the raido announcer: "Christmas is a time for family. No matter what happened durring the year you should always spend time with you friends and family on christmas!" and with that, the music to Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas began to seep through the speakers of Annie's raido.  
"Oh, Lordie Lord!" Annie sighed to herself. Though her face remained steadfast, anyone who bothered to look could see the pain in her eyes. Whith a fixed glare on the fire, she fell back into the past...  
  
"I don't know how I'm going to tell Annie." Molly sat with her head in her hands. Both her and Irene let out quiet sobs.  
Annie couldn't stand it anymore. She ran upstairs to her room and headed directly to her closet to pulled out her suit case.  
Franticaly, she began dumping drawerfuls of clothes into it. Grabbing her coat and wallet she climed out the window and rode away on her bike. But befor she left she didn't forget to write them a note telling them not to worry and not to come looking for her and that she'd be back. And that was it. That was the last time she'd seen or heard from them. As she was writing it she half expected half wanted them to not listen, but they did. They must not have loved her that much or they would have followed her...but they didn't and that was their fault. That was their loss. Annie knew she could never come back, never. Not in a million years...and that's what made it hurt so bad.  
  
For the past two years Annie has been working as a waitress in a small Italian Restaurant in Salt Lake City. she lived in the homeless shelter until she could afford to buy a small, cheap(ish) apartment on the outskirts of the city. She had driven herself to near insanity trying to figure out why no one loved her why she had no friends, and how much longer she was going to survive like this...alone.  
  
To ease the pain, Annie quietly hummed along with Little Drops of Rain and once again fell back even further into the past...  
  
"Little drops of rain..." Jack sang along with Judy Garland's Christmas hit as he twirled Annie across the living room. The Pillips had introduced to Annie her new favorite Christmas tradidton: dancing. She especially loved dancing with Jack. She was head over heels for him. Right from the very start. She knew he never believed a single outrageous word that came out of her mouth but he still hade faith in her, all the same.   
  
As she blinked, all her visions went away, for now atleast. "I might as well do something constructive with all this spare time I have. My desk needs cleaning..." Annie thought as she poured her cold cocoa down the sink. She headed over to her desk drawer and dumped it out on the floor to sort it all out.   
  
  
"Trash, empty envelope, letter from my boss - what's this?" Annie picked up a small blue piece of paper. "Have you seen this person?" Annie read sarcastically. Ever since she left, she had become cynical and well just plain rude. "Name: Annie Thaelen?!?!? 


	2. The Right Choice

Annie was dumbfounded. She couldn't believe it. Annie spent two weeks pondering this and finally gathered up the courage to go back. Slowly and nervously she took out the suit case that she had taken when she left, and filled it back up with all her most prized possesions. If she could give up her life with the Phillips, she could surely give this one up to go back to them. So she climbed aboard the city bus and left. Just locked up and left up all her decorations. She left everything. Annie didn't care about it all, she needed her family, she needed to go home.  
It was a long rough trip but it didn't matter. She got out of the bus when it stopped in Colorado. She walked two miles to the Phillips' nieghborhood and stood on their door step for a full half hour before she finally rang the doorbell.   
"I got it! I got it! I got it! I got it!" Annie smiled, she could hear Fi running to the door before Jack could. Sibling compatition. Fi yanked open the door and practically choked on her apple because of what she saw.   
"A-A-Annie!? No! It can't be, but- you, you left...JACK!!!" Fi stood staring blankly and not saying another word. Annie didn't come in because everything looked so different, she felt like an intruder, like she wasn't welcome.  
"Now what, Fi? Who's at the door? You don't need to yell I can-" Fi stood back revealing Annie to Jack and Clu. "No way" Jack's gum fell out of his mouth and fell on his shoe. "You're home! I can't believe it!" Annie smiled and shrugged one sholder.  
"Hey."The three of them all ran and practically dived on Annie ane began to hug and kiss her Fi started to cry, Clu was sqeezing her cheeks telling her never to leave again, and Jack sat back and smiled. "So were is everyone?" Annie asked after everyone had calmed down (which took about two hours).  
"Their at dinner! But don't worry about them, they'll be back soon, tell us about what happened after you left we wanna hear about you!" The crowded around her and quietly listeded to her story.   
Annie had just about finished when the doorbell rang again and this time Jack answered it. Sanding at the door was a beautiful red head. She had forest green eyes and rose colored lips. Annie's blonde hair and blue eyes were nothing compared to her. Or that's atleast what Annie thought.   
"Hey Ellie." Jack took the girl's hand and led her inside. She smiled at Fi and Clu and then turned to Annie.  
"I don't think we've met." she said still smiling. Annie stood up and shook her hand.   
"I'm Annie Thaelen. I'm a friend of the Phillips."  
"I'm Ellie McDonnald, Jack's girlfriend." This didn't surprise Annie in the slightest. Jack was a really great guy and she knew that she had her chance and she didn't take it. So someone else did. It wasn't surprising, but it was painful, very very painful. Annie smiled and forced a smile back.  
"Well, nice to meet you." She sat pack down beginning to wonder if comming back was such a good idea after all.   
The five of them spent the afternoon in the living room sitting on the couch, but only four of them were talking. Annie had tuned herself out and was thinking really hard. She thought about Peru, the place where she was born. She wondered where her panther had gone. She hadn't seen it since she left. The panther lived in her soul, her soul was officially dead, so she guessed that so was the panther. Annie thought about all the places she'd been with her parents and how much she missed them. It hurt so bad to think about them. It hurt so terribly infact, that she rarely did it anymore. Her memories with them were growing clowdy and fading away. Her parents seemed nothing more than charecters in a dream with undistinkable faces. Then she remembered how much fun she had on Molly's tour. How she and Jack put on the strange watches and went back in time, and finally became friends. How everyone but Annie and Fi turned itno strange objects and animals. She missed her so weird life. She wanted it back. Annie NEEDED Jack back. 


	3. The Extra Puzzle Piece

That night, not long after Jack kissed Ellie goodbie, Fi lead Annie back to her old room. It was the only room that looked exactly the same. It had been kept clean. Dusted, swept, mopped. Fi watched her intently as she toughted everything in her room. She opened her dresser drawer. There were all her old clothes. On her desk was her homework that she left there. They had been hoping this long that she'd come home. They wanted it so bad. Annie put her suitcase on the end of her old bed and back at Fi. Finally she noticed. She cut her hair! It used to be so long, it was now short and curled around her face. True, it was flattering, but Annie knew she'd miss styling it for her.   
"I like your hair." Annie stepped closer to her. Fi stared at her for a minute and burst into tears. She threw her arms around Annie with all her force. Annie struggled to keep her balance and hugged her back. She could feel Fi's tears on her sholder.  
"OH, Annie, Annie! I'm so sorry! I knew I shouldn't have cut it. It just remided me so much of you an you reminded me so much of Daddie. I couldn't bear it anymore. I missed you so much, never, EVER leave again, Ok?" Annie smiled reassuringly and touched Fi's hair. She patted her on the back and pulled a tussue out of the box on her desk and handed it to Fi who whiped her face apologeticly.  
"I love your hair either way. Long or short, straight of curly. I don't care, it sill looks great. " Annie hugged Fi again and they unpacked. After Fi had gone to bed, she talked to Clu for about a half hour and hugged him and Jack goodinght. She couldn't talk to Jack, it wasn't his fault. It just felt like everything was differint. Like she was the extra puzzle piece. Like everyone had learned to cope without her. She climbed under her old silk sheets and for the first time in years, slept the entire night.  
That morning, no one came in to wake her up. But, Molly came in to dust again. She sighed and whipped a tear from her cheeck. 'When will you come home, Annie?' She thought to her self. She stretched her neck stopped dead. Annie was sitting up looking at her. Molly chocked on her voice but then regained herself.  
"Annie? You're home! Oh, baby! When did you get back?" She ran over and pulled her into a tight hug witch she didn't let go for thirty minutes, where they sat in silence. Finally Molly sat back to look at her. She she cleaned happy tears off her face by rubbing her sleve across her eyes. She took Annie down stairs to breakfast. The Bells were over and Ned was cooking. When they walked in, Clu, Fi, and Jack silenced politley. Ned let the water boil over, Irene shaddered two plates and a cup, but didn't even look at the broken peices of glass scattered around her feet, and Carry spat out his Cheerios spilling them all over the table.   
The tense quietness was finnally brocken by the crunching of glass as Irene ran over to her. Everyone hugged and kissed her again. While everyone ate at breakfast, Molly told Annie that she had quit the singing business las month is looking for another job. She claimed to be too old. Now it was Carry. He was the leat singer and guitarist for a big band called Around The World. Annie told them about her life in Salt Lake and everything else. As everyone was cleaning up and clearing their dishes, Annie realized that Carry hadn't said a word to her. She decided to go on a long walk, to clear her head. She invited Carry to come along. He hesitated, than agreed because of the sharp glares from his mother. He yanked his brown jacket off the hook and they made their way down the steps. Carry was in his mid-to-late twenties and Annie was eighteen. The trudged in the rain without a word untill they got to the park, were they used to always sit on the swings. They'd talk for hours on end. He was the only one who knew how Annie felt about Jack. They tip-toed through the muddy playground and sat together on a bench. The rain dripping down both of thier faces. Annie looke up at Carry with a friendly smile. He looked back down at her, expessionless. Almost darkly. Annie's voice seemed to echo off every single rain drop:  
"I missed you. I'm sorry." 


	4. Amends

He shook his head violently, rain splashing from his hair. He looked at her in disbelief. "Annie, you can't just disappear and leave us to worry our heads of for two years and then just drop in like everything's fine. You scared us half to death! Clu had to go to shrink. You broke our hearts, you broke my heart." Tears joined the rain in streaming down Carry's face. Annie wouldn't look at him, it hurt too much. She was almost afraid to look at him. "Carry my parents died on Christmas! How was I supposed to handle it? I yelled at them for never being there, so they decided to come home and died on the way. I know you wouldn't survive if Ned and Irene died." He shook his head again and ran his fingers through his hair. "Carry, I don't think you get it, I'm an orphan. I always kinda felt like one, you know? But I never expected to actually become one. It's scary. And remember that panther I told you about? The one I said follows me around, kinda protecting me? Well I haven't seen it in years! Not since I left. I haven't seen anything weird since I left. And look!" Annie showed Carry the ring Fi gave her, the engraving had worn away and it was now nothing more than a silver band. "Don't think you're the only one with a broken heart, here. You know, I-" "Believe me," Carry cut in, "no one wanted you back more than I did, but...now that you're here. It's different. We don't run smoothly together anymore. It's like, like an apple, once you slice it in two it won't stay together anymore." Annie felt her heart sink to her toes at this. "That's not true. People come and go, THAT'S true, but if you really love them, then they haunt your dreams until you see them again. I love you more that that. You guys are my family. I do blame myself, I scared you and I know that you love me. Carry, please love me. I can't do this any longer, I can't be alone." Just then the rain stopped and Carry smiled. Annie's heart was back and beating healthily in her chest. The sun shone and warmed their wet faces. "Annie I love you, I will always love you, but people just tend to go their separate ways and you did that two years ago. You can't just drop in and out of a family's life and expect them to welcome you with open arms every time. That's just not the way it is!" "Carry, I know what I did was wrong and I just came back to see if I was still welcome, I'll stay if you guys want me too. If you love me like part of the family then.then.I promise on my parents' grave that I'll never leave again." Then Carry did something that made Annie practically choke on her tongue. He fell to his knees, threw his arms around Annie's lap and wept. And after the wept, he cried, then sobbed, then bawled. When Carry had finished, Annie pulled him to his feet, and they began home. On the way (they took the long way) they filled each other in on what had happened over the course of two years. There had always been a strangely close, but unspoken friendship between them. Annie felt as light as a feather as she skipped stones across the pond in Willson park with Carry. It was dusk and they had still not decided to go home, there was just too much to say. "Wow!" Carry breathed as he fell back onto the damp grass, "I had no idea you had been through so much! You've been living in Salt Lake City? Now that can't be all that much fun!" Annie laughed. "Believe me it wasn't. But I met a lot of interesting people. Oh my God! That place is just infested with Mormons. Did you know they can't drink cafeen?" Carry put on a fake surprised look and dropped his jaw practically to his belt. He sat up and tucked his knees to his chest. "No freakin way!" He said scarstically. Annie rolled her eyes and sat down next to him. He put his arm around her sholders. "Annie?" "Yes Carry." "There's something I have to tell you." 


End file.
